Crochet Mesh Bag from T-shirt Yarn

These crochet mesh bags are incredibly versatile and so easy to make. They hold a surprising amount of stuff. Today I would like to share my crochet mesh bag pattern with you.

I’m going back to basics with these crochet mesh bags. While I was going through some of my older posts, I stumbled upon my Mini Plarn Tote Crochet Pattern. I decided to tidy the pattern up just a tiny bit…and then wondered what had happened to the t shirt yarn mesh bags I had made from the same pattern (altered ever so slightly).

So I had a rummage around on my computer and realized that the photos for the crochet mesh bags were just as bad as I had feared. Soooo…I dragged my lazy body up to the loft and hauled the bags down for a bit of a photo shoot. While I was going through the new photos on my computer, Jaco got hold of one of the bags and filled it with Ben-10 aliens and Gormiti men. And of course I couldn’t resist using him as a model.

As you can see from the photos, these crochet mesh bags stretch QUITE a bit when full, so a little bag really does go a long way.

The pattern is suitable for beginners as you only need to know how to make chain stitches and single crochet stitches. In fact, working a mesh like this, where you don’t crochet into the stitches, but into the spaces between them, is excellent for a first-time project as you can just concentrate on the feel of crocheting without having to worry about sticking the hook into the wrong bit!

A Word About Yardage

Because of the nature of t-shirt yarn, it is impossible to tell you how many t-shirts you would need to cut up with any degree of accuracy. Not only are t shirts all different sizes, but they don’t all stretch equally!

I have made another 2 bags in an effort to answer this question. For the one bag I used less than 3 t shirts, for the other one I used 5!! Both took about 120 – 150 meters (130 – 165 yards) of t shirt yarn, but they varied greatly in weight. It IS possible to figure out roughly how many t-shirts you will need, but you’ll need to do a bit of arithmetic.

Here’s how to figure it out (ish)

If you are using a t-shirt that is about 30 cm wide (12″), each “round” will give you about a meter of yarn (width x 2 x 1.5 {to allow for the natural stretch}).

If the usable part of your t-shirt, excluding the hem and the arms, is 30 cm long (12″), and you are cutting 1 cm (roughly 1/2″) strips, you’ll get 30 meters (32 yards) out of one t-shirt (length of t-yarn per round x number of rounds). So you will need at least 4 t-shirts to make one bag.

Helpful Hint: Use t-shirts made from the same thickness and type of fabric. If you use a very stretchy lycra-type top and a not-so-stretchy XL men’s shirt, your bag is going to come out very wonky.

Alternatively, raid your fabric stash and use all those bits of jersey cotton you KNOW you will never find another use for. Or just buy some t shirt yarn from Amazon or Wool Warehouse.

Instructions

Foundation Chain: Chain 24.

Round 1:This round is made using the linen stitch. See THIS TUTORIAL if you need visual help. Sc in one loop only of the fourth ch from the hook. (Ch,sc) in one loop only of every second st across. (Ch,sc) into the last (same) st again and then continue working around the foundation chain inserting your hook into both remaining loops of each stitch you work into. (Ch, sc) into the remaining loops of every second st across. When you reach the end of the round, (ch, sc) into the same (lasts) stitch. {24 linen stitches in total – the initial 3 ch’s count as a linen stitch}

Round 2: Continuing around: (Ch 3, sc) into the space formed by the initial ch-3 at the beginning of round 1, which counts as your first ch-1 space. (Ch 3, sc) into every ch-1 space around. {24 (ch-3, sc) groups}

When you have completed the last round, fold your bag flat. The last stitch should now be 2 st’s away from the fold. Because you are working in a spiral, the first st of every round will creep steadily to the right.

If you want a longer or shorter bag, add more rounds/leave some rounds out until you get the desired length. If you alter the length, the last st of your last round will fall in a different place (that is on the fold, before the fold or waaay past the fold). Just make sure that you finish 2 st’s past the fold. So add a few more stitches or leave a few out.

You will now make the handles.

Handles

Round 1: Starting 2 st’s past the fold: Ch 15. Skip 8 ch-3 spaces. (Ch,sc) into the next four ch-3 spaces. These 4 linen stitches should fall over the fold on the other side. Ch 15 again and skip 8 ch-3 spaces. (Ch, sc) into the last 4 ch-3 spaces.

Round 2: *(Ch,sc) 9 times, working into the ch-15 space from the previous round. (Ch,sc) into each of the next 3 ch-1 spaces.* Repeat from * to * one more time.

Round 3: (Ch, sc) into each of the 24 ch-1 spaces from the previous round. Sl st in the next ch-1 space and fasten off. Work away your tails of yarn.

For the flowers, I used THIS TUTORIAL by Linda Permann. For the inside of the flowers I made a very big french knot.

bluebell, that really depends on how big the t-shirts are and how thin you are cutting your strips. Using home-made t-yarn is not an exact science at all. I think I used 2 large white t-shirts and 1 extra large blue shirt.

I loved this pattern and bought T shirt yarn to start with as I havn’t crochet for 40 years. I had to start from scratch. The bag so far looks similar to yours. I just cannot get the handles correct is there any way you could do a short video. When I look at the pictures it looks like you have decreased – I really feel so dorf
Regards Rhonda

Rhonda, if you send me a photo of your progress and tell me where you got up to, I can help you out. The first round of the handles does decrease because you are only making 1 ch st between sc’s, not 3. Does that make sense?

Hi Dedri Many thanks for replying -I have reached the part where I need to start the handles you say start 2 st past the fold ( is it 2 clusters or literally 2 chain st) : Ch 15.( here I have a length of chain) Skip 8 ch-3 spaces.Do I skip 8 of the 15 created). I don’t understand where I must go round? Is it round the 15 chain that is crochet? I’l try take a photo.
Regards

Hi Rhonda, I have already replied via email, but thought I should try and clear it up here as well.

You should end up 2 clusters past the fold. Once you have chained 15, skip the next 8 ch-3 spaces in the last round of the bag and continue the round as instructed. The first round of the handles is worked into the last round of the bag, if that makes sense. So don’t do anything with the ch-15. just leave it alone until you work over it in the next round.

Hi Dedri, I love these beautiful bags & have put one on my Christmas list to make for my daughter. She is very environmentally aware & hates plastic bags – she will love these bags for her shopping. Maybe I’d better make more than one!

I have just knitted a t-shirt rug for my bathroom & I found that it sheds a lot of small fibers, does that stop happening after a while, or after a wash?

Thank you for your comment :) It all depends on which kind of t-shirt fabric you use. As a rule of thumb t-shirt yarn that “tubes” very easily won’t shed. By that I mean: when you pull on the strips of t-yarn, they will either form a natural tube, or they will just stretch and look a bit bleagh. T-yarn that just stretches (instead of “tubing”) when you pull it, will shed.

This does go away after a wash or two, though. I made a rug out of mostly yukky un-tubing t-yarn and after the third wash it stopped shedding little bits of fluff.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you need me to explain it differently x

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